New rice variety in Jamalpur leaves farmers in distress

The cultivation of a new high-yield rice variety in the village of Balijudi, under Madarganj Municipality in Jamalpur has brought despair to farmers, as the rice grains are turning chalky white. Cultivating rice variety named BRRI-87, these farmers now face extensive losses.

The responsibility for this crop failure due to the chalky rice grains is being attributed to the farmers by the Upazila Department of Agriculture. The farmers had collected the seeds for this rice from the Upazila Agriculture Office, with high hopes for a bountiful harvest. However, as they see the majority of their rice grains turn white, they are left disheartened.

Mahfuz Hossein, a farmer from the Balijudi village, explained that this year, during the Aman season, he and fellow farmers purchased seeds of a new rice variety (BRI-87) from the Upazila Agriculture Office. After planting these seeds, they observed that the harvested rice grains turned predominantly chalky. Disappointed by this outcome, they are now facing extensive financial losses.

Furthermore, Hossein reported that he had cultivated this rice on approximately eight bighas of land, and the situation is the same for other farmers in the area, including Kafil Uddin, Suruj Mia, A. Malek, A. Kashem, Abdul, Idris, Sazzad, Rafiqul, Jahangir, Masud, and A. Jalil. They are experiencing similar crop losses due to chalky rice grains. Although they have sought assistance and compensation from the Agricultural Department for the crop damage caused by the chalky rice, it seems the blame has been placed on the farmers.

Regarding the matter, Shahadul Islam, an agricultural officer in Madarganj Upazila, stated that during the flowering period, there have been reports of bacterial and fungal attacks due to adverse weather conditions, including heavy rainfall. However, farmers have not engaged in proper discussions about this issue.

He further added that they have conducted field visits and provided treatments for the affected crops. They hope that the problem will be resolved. Additionally, their team of agricultural workers is constantly providing necessary advice to the farmers on this issue.